A new gay bar in Hell’s Kitchen is attracting attention before its doors have opened. PRIDE Bar x Lounge’s off-white facade, rainbow lighting and a typo on a promotional poster have fuelled online debate about what a queer nightlife venue should look like, and whether the neighbourhood needs another one.
Essential Takeaways
- A pre-opening talking point: PRIDE Bar x Lounge is planned for 742 Ninth Avenue, in the former Boxers location.
- A divisive look: Online reactions have focused on the subdued exterior, bright rainbow lights and a spelling mistake on a poster.
- An ambitious proposed layout: Community-board paperwork describes seating across two floors and a rooftop, with a bar on each level.
- The owners have responded: Paul Fogarty and Andy Karlic describe the project as an openly gay bar.
- A debate with deeper roots: New York’s LGBTQ+ bars have long been places to gather, while access to them has also been contested.
The bar is being judged before its first pour
A pale facade and bright rainbow lights have made PRIDE Bar x Lounge a talking point in Hell’s Kitchen before anyone’s had the chance to try the place. The New York Times reported that the planned venue’s look, along with a misspelling on a promotional poster, prompted a flurry of online criticism.
Some commenters considered the off-white exterior too restrained for a gay bar; others thought the lighting was too loud. A poster typo added another layer of mockery, turning a developing venue into a ready-made debate about taste, identity and first impressions.
What does a gay bar need to look like?
The criticism has been about more than paint and lights. Queerty described a split between people who questioned whether the venue was right for the neighbourhood and those who welcomed the prospect of another queer-friendly space. One widely shared joke, by Sheeva Massoudi, compared the bar to a trap for gay people.
But social-media jokes aren’t a verdict on a venue’s eventual atmosphere. The New York Times reported that co-owners Paul Fogarty and Andy Karlic reject the suggestion that the project’s queer identity is insincere. Queerty later covered their response to the criticism, keeping the focus on a question that sits beneath the design argument: who gets to define what an openly gay space should look and feel like?
A familiar Ninth Avenue site, with big plans
The address has a history in the neighbourhood’s gay nightlife. What Now New York identifies the planned bar as the former Boxers site and outlines a proposed three-level layout, with seating and a bar on the first and second floors, plus a rooftop bar. The paperwork also proposed daily hours from 11 a.m. to 4 a.m.
Those details are plans, not a guarantee of what customers will eventually find. Still, they suggest an expansive venue, rather than a small bar tucked away from view. For anyone following the project, it’s worth separating the proposed design and capacity from the online conversation about how the building looks.
The argument has a longer history
New York’s LGBTQ+ bars have mattered as more than nightlife venues. The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission says Julius’ Bar Building was designated for its connection to the 1966 “Sip-In”, a protest against efforts to close bars for serving gay people. The history offers useful context: gathering places can also become places where the right to gather is challenged.
Today’s debate is happening in a different setting, but the underlying question of who feels welcome still matters. A striking exterior may attract attention, though the more telling measure will be how the venue serves its customers once it opens.
Online reaction can’t tell the whole story
Queerty’s account captures both the jokes and the support, rather than suggesting there’s one shared view of the project. The New York Times also frames the response as a disagreement over what a gay bar should be, not proof of whether this one will succeed.
And that distinction matters. A venue can be criticised for its branding before it has served a single drink; customers will only be able to judge the experience after it opens. For now, PRIDE Bar x Lounge is drawing attention for what it represents as much as for its facade.
The first impression is already loud; the real test will come when the doors open.
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